Williamsburg, Jcc Flickering Back To Life

75 Percent Still Without Power

But the dairy case was bare, the bread selection limited and a few customers were waiting for an overdue delivery of ice.

A couple of miles away, a Richmond Road grocery store had meat, milk, bread and produce. But no ice or frozen food for sale.

So it went all over town -- a very mixed bag.

Many businesses are open during normal hours again, but schools will be closed at least until Monday. The Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse reopens Thursday.

Life slowly is returning to normal in Williamsburg and James City County. Very slowly.

Too slowly for the estimated 75 percent of residents still without electrical power -- some of whom also have no water, sewer or phone service.

The power might have returned a little too quickly for at least one family, whose apartment was extensively damaged when their electricity came back on Monday night, the James City County Fire Department said.

A lamp with its switch turned on had been left lying on clothing in a bedroom of the second-floor apartment in the 100 block of Lafayette Boulevard, said District Chief Tal Luton. When the power came on, the clothes caught fire, he said.

No one was home. The residents had been gone about an hour or two, he said. "They lost almost everything."

He said firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading into the attic. If it had, the blaze would have spread to the other three units on the second floor of the building, Luton said.

He warned people without power to keep their appliances turned off to prevent a fire when electricity is restored.

Williamsburg officials estimated that about 40 percent of city residents had power by Tuesday afternoon. Outages are concentrated around the Jamestown Road, South Henry Street, Highland Park, Capitol Landing Road and Quarterpath Park areas, they said.

James City County spokeswoman Veda McMullen said 39 of the county's 373 neighborhoods had power. They included Forest Glen, Fairway Villas, St. George's Hundred and parts of Kingsmill.

Fire Chief Richard Miller said 75 percent to 80 percent of the county still had no power.

A spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power confirmed that about 75 percent of Williamsburg-area customers were still without power. The Williamsburg area was one of the hardest hit, due to a huge number of downed trees, he said.

He said the company could not provide any estimate of when power would be restored.

Williamsburg-James City County school officials said they will not resume classes until at least a day after school buildings have power, so they'll have enough time to get food delivered and chilled. As of Tuesday afternoon, five schools in the district remained without power. Walsingham and Williamsburg Christian academies, the area's two largest private schools, also had no power.

School officials will meet Friday to determine if schools can reopen Monday, said school system spokesman Tim Bullis. No decisions have been made about how to make up the lost time.

The College of William and Mary, which closed its campus Wednesday evening, will reopen dorms and academic buildings at 8 a.m. Sunday. Spokesman William T. Walker said campus officials did not want to reopen until all buildings had electricity and walkways were clear of fallen trees and power lines.

Circuit Judge Samuel Powell said he made the decision to close the courthouse because of all the people with trees on their houses, no food or water and other problems that might make it difficult for them to come to court.

But the courthouse will open Thursday, and grand jurors are expected to report for service, he stressed.

Staff writer Brian Whitson contributed to this report.

Patti Rosenberg can be reached at 223-5686 or by e-mail at prosenberg@dailypress.com